The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is an independent federal agency responsible for all non-military broadcasting sponsored by the US government. Once a part of the United States Information Agency, BBG oversees seven international broadcasters. BBG seeks to “promote and sustain freedom” through the broadcast of news and information about the United States and the world to overseas audiences. Some of BBG’s networks were created to promote a pro-American message to audiences in the Middle East - but instead they have broadcast unflattering accounts of the US. In addition, the leadership of the BBG has been the source of its own, unwanted, news for misuse of federal funds for gambling and to reward personal friends.
In 1990, all US government international broadcasting services began to work more closely, as new media made newsgathering faster and more prevalent. That year, the US Information Agency established the Bureau of Broadcasting to consolidate its three broadcasting services: the Voice of America, WORLDNET Television and Film Service, and Radio and TV Marti. These three came together under one organization and were supported by the Office of Engineering and Technical Operations.
In 1991, the Bureau of Broadcasting created the Office of Affiliate Relations and Audience Analysis (renamed the Office of Affiliate Relations and Media Training in 1996). This office was charged with establishing and maintaining a network of affiliated radio and television stations around the globe to broadcast Voice of America and WORLDNET produced programs. Today, more than 1,200 radio and television stations receive programming through the Office of Affiliate Relations.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed the International Broadcasting Act, which consolidated federal government international broadcasting even further. With this legislation, the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) was created within the US Information Agency (USIA), and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BGG) was established. These governors were given oversight authority over all non-military government international broadcasting. The IBB is comprised of the Voice of America and Radio and TV Marti, along with the Office of Engineering and Technical Services. In 2004, WORLDNET TV was folded into Voice of America.
The BBG was organized under a Secretary of State (ex officio) and eight members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The first BBG was sworn in on August 11, 1995. BBG became an independent agency on October 1, 1999, as a result of the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is responsible for all non-military international broadcasting sponsored by the federal government. In order to “promote and sustain freedom,” the BBG seeks to broadcast accurate and objective news about the United States and the world overseas audiences. BBG’s work involves reaching mass audiences by programming content for AM, FM, audio and video satellite, shortwave radio and the Internet, through seven independent broadcasting organizations that collectively broadcast in 65 languages in more than 125 markets around the world. The BBG is composed of nine members, eight of whom are appointed by the President.
BBG’s programs consist of:
- Voice of America (VOA) offers continuously updated programs on satellite, FM, AM and shortwave radio frequencies, as well as streaming media and downloadable formats at VOANews.com.
- Alhurra is a satellite TV channel broadcasting in the Middle East.
- Radio Sawa is an Arabic language radio station providing news and information to youth in Arabic-speaking countries.
- Radio Farda is a Persian language radio station based in Prague and Washington, DC. It broadcasts political, cultural, social and art news, with an emphasis on Iran.
- Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a radio and communications organization broadcasting in 28 languages around the world via shortwave, AM, FM and the Internet. It tries to promote democracy by “disseminating factual information and ideas.”
- Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private radio station broadcasting in nine Asian languages.
- Radio Marti and TV Marti is a radio and television broadcaster located in Miami broadcasting Spanish-language programs to Cuba and the United States.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) spent nearly $414 million on 3,685 contractors this decade. According to USASpending.gov, BBG paid for a variety of services, from communication, detection and coherent radar equipment to special studies and analyses in support of its programs.
The top 10 recipients of BBG money were:
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Thales
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$21,720,743
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New Skies Satellites N.V.
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$19,238,552
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Hughes Global Services, Inc.
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$17,497,197
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Asiasat BVI Limited
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$15,522,557
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France Telecom
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$13,636,775
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BC Partners Holdings, Ltd.
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$12,848,817
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Comsat Corporation
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$11,441,863
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Dalet SA
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$9,407,939
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Intermedia Survey Institute
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$8,855,513
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Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.
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$6,167,534
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Thales
, the agency’s largest contractor, is known for its information systems and software for the aerospace, defense and security markets in all parts of the world. The remaining contractors on BBG’s top 10 list deal in creating, deploying and maintaining satellite communication systems around the globe.
BBG Head Removed from Board
In August 2006, the New York Times reported that Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, then-director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, was being removed from office after a State Department report revealed that he had used his office to run a “horse racing operation” and that he improperly put a friend on the payroll. This came a year after Tomlinson had been removed from a position at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, after another inquiry found that he had violated rules meant to insulate public television and radio from political influence.
Bush Appointees at Odds with National Public Radio Programming
In May 2005, the New York Times reported that executives at National Public Radio were increasingly at odds with Bush-appointed representatives at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), including Kenneth Tomlinson, then-chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. CPB led by Tomlinson had appointed two ombudsmen to judge the content of programs for balance, and NPR station managers criticized this decision, urging CPB not to interfere in its editorial decisions. CPB also blocked NPR from broadcasting its programs at a Voice of America radio station in Berlin.
BBG Networks Broadcast Anti-American Material
In June 2008, Alhurra and Sawa, founded by the Bush administration to promote a positive image of the United States in the Middle East, were found to have aired anti-American and anti-Israeli viewpoints, showcased pro-Iranian policies and given air time to a militant who called for the death of American soldiers in Iraq.
The federal government has spent almost $500 million to fund the Alhurra
television network and the Sawa radio network. Launched as an alternative to Al Jazeera, Alhurra has suffered from numerous problems and gaffes. Alhurra’s reporters and commentators operate with little oversight. Alhurra’s president, Brian Conniff, does not speak Arabic and is unable to understand anything broadcast on the radio and television networks he is paid to manage. Conniff has no journalism experience and worked previously as a government auditor. His news director, Daniel Nassif, grew up in Lebanon and has no background in television. Before coming to the network, he helped promote the political aspirations in Washington of a Lebanese Christian former general.
Lost in Translation: Alhurra - America’s Troubled Effort to Win Middle East Hearts and Minds
(by Dafna Linzer, Pro Publica)
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Founded: 1995
Annual Budget: $699.5 million
Employees: 1,630
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Broadcasting Board of Governors
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President Barack Obama chose former Time managing editor and CNN executive Walter Isaacson to chair the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other international broadcasts of the U.S. government. He was nominated on November 18, 2009, but not confirmed by the Senate until June 30, 2010.
Born May 20, 1952, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Isaacson graduated from the prep school Isidore Newman School and spent a summer at Deep Springs College as a participant in the Telluride Association Summer Program before attending Harvard. He received a bachelor’s degree in history and literature in 1974, and then attended Pembroke College at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a Master of Arts in philosophy, politics, and economics in 1976.
His journalism career began at The Sunday Times of London, before moving to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. In 1978 he joined Time and served the next 22 years at the national magazine as a political correspondent, national editor, and editor of new media before becoming managing editor in 1996. He became chairman and CEO of CNN in 2001, and two years later accepted the roles of president and CEO of The Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.
In October 2005, Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana appointed Isaacson vice chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, a 33-member policymaking board. In December 2007, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to chair the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership, which seeks to create economic and educational opportunities in the Palestinian territories.
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Kaufman, Edward
Previous Senior Member
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When the position of chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors was vacated in December 2007, Edward E. Kaufman was the senior member of the board, having been chosen as a charter member by President Clinton in 1995. Kaufman earned a BSME degree from Duke University and an MBA from the Wharton School. He spent seven years working for the DuPont Company and then 22 years as the chief of staff for Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE). Kaufman is also a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke.
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